MADINAH: Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah is likely to open a three-day international knowledge forum, which will bring together prominent scientists from across the world, at the Le Meridien in Madinah on June 22.
“King Abdullah has cordially accepted the invitation to honor the forum,” said Amr Al-Dabbagh, governor of the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA), the main organizer of the event.
Prominent scientists from across the world — including Dr. Afzal Hossain and Stein Sture from the United States, Professor Sar Sardy from Indonesia, Dr. Musa M. Nordin from Malaysia and Dr. Anis Ahmed from Pakistan — are expected to attend the event, entitled “Noor” (Light).
“The primary objective of the annual forum is to promote human civilization from the land of Madinah by attracting investors, scientists, scholars and pioneer institutions to the Knowledge Economic City, which is set to become an international center for knowledge,” SAGIA officials said.
Crucial topics to be discussed at the forum include high-tech innovation and creativity in the Muslim world, strategies to decrease genetic disorders, knowledge infrastructure development through engineering and information and communications technology (ICT), and bioinformatics-based investment in the Kingdom. Al-Dabbagh also announced that SAGIA plans to hold the knowledge forum each year. This year’s forum will focus on health care, and ICT.
“The forum will help attract investors, scientists and pioneering firms to KEC as an overseas investment destination,” Al-Dabbagh said.
He added that SAGIA had already licensed 15 knowledge-based industries worth SR51 billion at Knowledge Economic City (KEC) in Madinah.
Dr. Salim Al-Malik, chairman of the scientific committee, said: “We have selected about 100 working papers, some of which will be presented at the forum while others will be distributed among the participants.”
The 24 speakers also include four women — Sabeeha Rehman, president and co-founder of the National Autism Association in New York; Dr. Naima Abdel Ghani, director of the Medical Clinic for Preventive Medicine, Immunotherapy and Anti-Aging Medicine in Florida; Arfa Khan, professor of radiology at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York; and Dr. Khadijah Shamsuddin, a researcher on maternal health, child health, reproductive health and women’s cancers in Malaysia.
KEC, which was launched by King Abdullah in June 2006, is located some five kilometers from the Prophet’s Mosque and seven kilometers from Madinah Airport. Work on the city began in April 2008.
